


The Day After

by Titti



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-01
Updated: 2005-07-01
Packaged: 2017-11-27 23:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/667549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titti/pseuds/Titti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a Chemical war kills most humans, the survivors must unite to rebuild the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Day After

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2005 xmmficathon on LJ.  
> Pairing/scenario requested: John/Bobby; Post-apocalyptic scene. Where will they be after the War?  
> Note: I've used all movie canon, plus some comic canon: Jean is dead, Xavier and Magneto are on Genosha, Emma and Scott run the school, Northstar (Jean-Paul) has a crush on Bobby, Mystique and Pyro were part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and mutants are immune to HIV.

Bobby's POV

I always thought I knew how the end of the world would come. Mutants v. homo sapiens; genetic powers v. technology. No one could have predicted what happened.

It started on a very normal day. In the United States, people were asleep since it was the middle of the night, but in another part of the world a crisis escalated until, with a surprise move, India sent a chemical bomb toward Pakistan. At least, that's what the Pakistani government said. The Indian government stated that they were defending the country from a chemical attack from Pakistan. Soon, Korea, North and South, intervened. Russia was sucked into it as well. Then Europe. Finally, the United Stated. Until most of the world population was annihilated in the first (and last) Chemical World War.

This was Magneto's dream come to life. Homo sapiens everywhere were dead or were about to. Very few survived the chemicals that enveloped the planet. Mutants proved to be stronger, their genes protecting them from most chemical agents, however they had to deal with the consequences of such mass destruction.

C Day, as we have gotten to call the one-day war, changed the face of the earth. We spent the next seven days regrouping, preparing for a future that looked bleak, even to the most optimistic of us.

We had no electricity, but we found a temporary way to maintain our emergency generator. We stored all the canned food, using all the perishable food first. We were set up pretty well for the moment, going to local homes and stores to take as much as we could stock up, but soon we would have to venture to other towns to find what we needed.

I didn't feel bad going into homes and stores, and empting their cabinets and shelves. It was not like there was anyone coming back for those things. All the area survivors, mostly mutants and ten homo sapiens, were now at the school.

On the evening of the eighth day, I reached the institute after my latest run into town to find Logan giving orders left and right. He hated it, hated being in charge, but I think Scott would have had a fit if Logan had put me in charge. After all, everyone knows that I'm not reliable.

"Bobby, ya need to cool the storage room. We have all the perishable there," Logan told me, damping a crate in my arms. "Put that in there as well."

"Give me a minute, will you? Shesh, I just got back."

"Yeah, find anyone?"

I shook my head. "There is no one left around here...." I tried to smile, and sound chipper. I'm the happy-go-lucky one around here, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep that smile on. "I did find more gas. I filled the tanks, but we need to go for more. I made a stop at the supermarket, grabbed as much food as possible, but if we allow non mutants...."

Logan groaned, but it was what I expect from him. "That's what Cyke said, and until we hear from the Professor, he's in charge."

"We don't know what Scott said. We only know what Emma said...God, I hate it when she gets into my head," I said, shivering.

Logan grunted again, and I smiled. I knew Logan couldn't wait for Scott to return and take control. Scott and Emma had been on a mission in Europe when the Chemical War had started. Rogue and Remy were with them. Now they were searching through Europe for survivors. Emma's telepathy was helping in locating mutants, but it wasn't as easy with non-mutants.

Emma wasn't the only one using her power to contact people. Rachel had been using cerebro to contact as many mutants as she could reach, but she wasn't as powerful as the Professor or Emma (just yet), and she needed to take frequent breaks.

The rest of the X-Men were scattered around the world on missions. Storm and Kurt were in South America. North Star, Alex, and Lorna were in Canada. Another group, led by Angel, was in California. Now, they were all making their way home, helping as many people as they could. We didn't have the details, because there were no phones of course, and all communications were done through telepaths, which wasn't optimal with the distances, but it was our only option.

"Yer still standing there, Kid," Logan told me annoyed, bringing me out of my reverie.

"Your portable refrigerator is on the way," I answered him flippantly, before going downstairs. Only when I was alone, I let my mask drop, and the smile evaporated into a sigh.

~*~*~*~

There are some universal laws that never cease to work. Murphy's law is one of those. I learned that only a few days later.

I was in the hallway, trying to direct the latest group of mutants that had reached the school, when I heard a voice behind.

"Are you taking in everyone or am I the exception?"

I froze (and it had nothing to do with my powers). It had been years, and he sounded older, more mature, but I had no doubt in my mind to whom the voice belonged. "You're not the exception, John." Only then, I turned to see him grin at me.

"Good, I'm looking forward to spending some time with the X-Men." The flipping of his lighter was the telltale sign that he was lying. It was eleven years seven months, and four days since he had left, and he was still using that zippo as a security blanket. "I've found two boys on the way here. I think they're mutants. They won't say, but I think they've just had their first taste of their powers."

I nodded. "We'll take care of them... as best as we can," I added. For some reason, I didn't have to be chipper or optimistic with him. "The Professor isn't here, most of the X-Men are around the world searching for survivors, and we have more kids than rooms."

John shrugged. "Send them somewhere else."

I glared at him. Good old John, always finding the simple solution. "You want us to turn our back on them? How can you even say that?"

"No, I mean there has to be a school in this town. Schools have rooms, lockers, locker rooms with showers, gym, kitchens, cafeterias. You can transform a school into a temporary home for the older people, and keep the younger ones here." He stared at me with a raised eyebrow. "What? You don't think I can come up with a good idea, is that it? I'm full of ideas, some more dangerous than others, but all good."

His grin took me back to when we were best friends, and I grinned back. "I remember some of your dangerous ideas. I'm surprised we survived."

"Nah, I'd never allowed for anything to hurt you."

No, he saved that honor for himself, but I didn't say that. Instead I hugged him. "Welcome back, John."

"That easy?" he whispered, as he hugged me back.

"The way I see it, we have a new chance, not just us, but all the survivors." I finally stepped back, but I was still smiling. "Maybe we can skip the life threatening activities this time around."

"You're taking away all the fun," John whined, then he picked up a bag that was lying at his feet. "C'mon, tell me where I'm staying."

I should have known better. I shouldn't have put myself in such situations, but where else would I put him. I doubted the other X-Men would be happy to see him, and putting John with kids was an accident waiting to happen. "Second floor, fourth room to the left. You'll need to find a mattress; we have them stored in the basketball court."

He nodded, and then asked, "Who's in that room?"

I sighed. "Me."

He patted my back while he gave me a wicked smile. "Just like old times." Without waiting for more, he walked upstairs. I stayed there, looking at him until he was out of sight.

I hoped that this time around, things wouldn't go like they had in the past.

~*~*~*~

Things weren't as bad as I thought they would be. When I told Logan about John, he grunted and said that everyone has skeletons in their past, and if anyone understood that, it was him, and then went back to work.

As the number of survivors surged, John mentioned the idea of changing the local high school into a second dormitory. Logan and Rachel agreed that the room was needed. We were put in charge of restructuring the school. John was extremely good at using everyone's powers to do what was needed, and between new showers and turning classrooms into bedroom, John and I got reacquainted.

It was a slow process, a shared memory, a joke about television show that would not be aired anymore, tales of things we did in the past. Each new day made our discussions more personal. He told me about growing up with Magneto as a sort of foster parent. I told him about breaking up with Rogue, and about Lorna.

He told me about becoming a writer in his spare time, when he was bored with conquering the world. Fortunately he was joking, sort of. I told him about getting a college degree and teaching at the Institute. Slowly things went back to the way they were. Me and John, John and me, facing whatever world together. Opposite, but inseparable.

Of course, things changed as the rest of the X-Men returned. Kurt used a very Catholic approach, talking about forgiving and turning the other cheek. I had to elbow John before he said something stupid and hurt Kurt in the process. Storm told me to keep an eye on him, something I was already doing. So all was well until the next group returned.

I thought that Alex would have a problem, mostly because he's Scott's brother and the Summers brothers always have something to complain about, but both he and Lorna voiced no complaints. Maybe it was because they weren't here when John left the first time.

The strongest opposition came from Northstar, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand the reason behind it. I didn't think they had had any dealings with each other, but I double checked with John, asking him if they had faced off in the past.

John smirked and said, "No, but I think it's the future that he's worried about."

I had no clue what he meant, but he wouldn't say more, and I really didn't want to ask Northstar. There had been enough misunderstandings between us in the past. No, I ignored the problem, hoping that it would go away, eventually I did learn what John meant, but first I had to deal with Rogue and Scott.

It was about two months after C Day that they returned from Europe. Emma waltzed inside the school like she owned it, which meant she acted like she usually did. I think she considered John so beneath her that she couldn't find any reason to bring the subject up. Then again, Emma considers me beneath her, and that could be why she wasn't speaking to me.

Remy's reaction surprised even John. I knew that they had found themselves on opposite sides, and was ready for some friction, but Remy shrugged it off by saying, "Cheri, they could have never beaten the X-Men, and we kicked their asses. If anyone should have a problem is ton ami."

John mimicked the shrug. "It was a job, nothing personal." He then picked up three beer bottles and handed them to me. "Can you?"

He didn't say more, but I chilled them, before sitting dumbfounded while they shared a beer and tales of past adventures.

That left Scott and Rogue. John smartly avoided them, or maybe it was just coincidence since we spent most our time at the high school, but eventually they did meet.

One morning, we - most of the X-Men - were standing in the kitchen, trying to decide which member of the faculty would move to the high school.

"We also need to decide what to do with Psycho," Rogue drawled out, grinning at me.

If she thought it was funny, she was wrong. "The name is Pyro; in fact, it's John, and I don't see the problem," I answered, without bothering to hide my annoyance. John had been nothing but helpful since his arrival, and with over seven hundred people at the school, we needed all the help we could get.

Scott was pouring his coffee, but spared me a glance before hi attention returned to the coffee. "He tried to kill us on numerous occasions," he said after he took a sip.

"As I recall, you almost succeeded in killing me." John's voice was so close that I knew he was standing behind me, slightly to the left. "You don't see me holding a grudge, Cyclops." He took another step, and I could feel the heat from his body. I remembered the many times, in the past, when we had stood like that, ready for the world, but that was long ago, before Rogue, and before Magneto. "But if you want me to go...there must be other survivors."

That was so unexpected that I turned my head so fast that I thought I would suffer from whiplash. John never accepted what people said so easily, and I couldn't understand why he was willing to leave again. I was also hurt that he could easily move on, but regardless I would not let him put himself in danger.

"You're not going anywhere," I said, challenging anyone to say otherwise, before settling my gaze on Scott again. "Most of the people in this room have had their not-so-good moments. We could start with your girlfriend, and you trust her to run the school."

"Emma has proved what side she's on." Scott's reply was calm and low, which was expected since Scott stopped showing emotion long ago.

"And John can't do the same unless we let him stay. C'mon, Scott, you know that's what the Professor would do."

Scott put down his cup of coffee, as if he didn't have a care in the world, but I could see he was thinking it over. "The Professor isn't here, Bobby."

"No, he's playing house with Magneto," John said amused, but every person in the room turned to stare at him.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Rogue shook her head. "Magneto is dead, *Pyro*, and even if he wasn't, the Professor wouldn't have anything to do with him."

"That's how much you know, *Rogue*." John's voice became colder than ice, his anger sending shivers down my spine. "Magneto is helping your dear professor on Genosha. The person you killed wasn't Magneto. He and the Professor arranged that little drama."

Scott frowned, but I could almost taste the hurt beneath his expression, the same hurt I felt. "How do you know?"

"Mystique went to the island. Magneto asked her to, because they needed help with a bunch of mutants. I didn't pay attention to the details. It was none of my business," John said with a shrug. "Look, if you don't believe me, contact Xavier."

"We will." Before Scott had finished, Emma was already out the door, probably going to use cerebro to confirm John's story. "Regardless of what happened to Magneto, Bobby's right. We don't kick people out, not with things the way they are. John, you'll stay at the high school. Storm and Logan are in charge. There are also non-mutants staying there. Any problems from you, and you will be out, clear?"

"Crystal," John deadpanned.

"I'm staying there, too," I blurted out, waiting for an objection, but Scott nodded his assent.

"Rachel will go as well. You need at least one adult telepath there. Storm, let me know if you need anyone else." In typical Scoot fashion, all decisions were made and further discussion would prove as useful as banging your head against a wall.

"He's telling the truth," Emma announced, standing by the door, all dressed in white, with her boobs almost spilling out from her tight shirt. "Magneto is alive, and so are most of Genosha's residents. The Professor said that they aren't ready to return yet."

I couldn't believe what she was telling us. We were all concerned about the Professor being all alone, and he was with Magneto, playing father to a new bunch of mutants, while lying to us. I turned and left the kitchen before I could say something that would cause real fireworks. I bumped into Emma as I exited. I heard her bitch in my head. My mental 'fuck you' drove her out of brain fast enough.

I went straight to my room, and started packing. Suddenly, I felt the need to leave the school. John came into the room a few minutes later. He watched for a while, and then he handed me a shirt. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"You didn't do anything," I said as I took the shirt. For some reason, we weren't looking at each other, and that felt strange.

"I thought you knew." Now I understood his concern, his silent apology for being the one who told me, but I wasn't upset with him.

"He should have told us," I answered, my assurance that apologies weren't needed.

He grabbed both my wrists, forcing me to look at him. "Don't let it get to you."

"How can I not? He's... he's been like a father to us, and he lied to us.... We killed Magneto after he threatened to destroy New York, and now... it was all a lie. How could he do that to us?"

John squeezed my hand, and gave me a sad smile. "First, he's not your father. Second, you know as well as I do that fathers don't really care... Look, I'm sure Xavier cares, but... Men like Xavier and Magneto, they care about people, but they love their ideals. For them, people will always be secondary to some grand plan to turn the world into what they want it to be."

I don't know why I asked him what I did. Maybe the Professor's betrayal reminded me of John's, or maybe because after all these years, I still had questions, but I couldn't stop myself. "If they are the same, why did you leave?"

"Because Magneto appreciated me, and he didn't judge me the way people did here." John released my hands. Only then did I realize how right it felt to be so close. "Everyone hated me here, Bobby... everyone but you. Remember with the cops? Suddenly I was some crazy killer, that's how you looked at me, how Rogue looked at me, but no one said anything when Logan was gutting people with his claws. No one accused him of *endangering* the poor humans." Then he smirked. "Of course, there were also benefits with Magneto."

I heard the teasing in his voice, and I needed to smile as well, so I played along. "Yeah? What kind of benefits? Beer, TV after 10, no school?"

He stepped closer, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Mystique, best benefit of all."

I frowned, trying to understand what he was trying to tell me. He laughed when he saw my confusion.

"Mystique can become anyone you want, and she has no problems being touched, in fact she has a very casual approach to sex. At the beginning, she was worried that I wanted a relationship, after we got things straight..." He opened his arms, and grinned. "It was fun."

"You had sex with Mystique? But... she's..." Evil I thought, but then John wouldn't have considered her evil. "She's blue."

"Not in my bed, she wasn't," John answered, and somehow we had gotten close again, our bodies almost touching, one of his hands brushing against my thigh when he lowered his arms.

Then it dawned on me. His antagonism with Rogue, his little remark about touching Mystique. "You finally had Rogue."

He snorted. "You don't really think that, do you?"

God, he was really doing a number on me, because I was confused again, really confused as opposed to the pretend confused act I put on often enough. "So... why were you always trying to impress her? I don't understand."

"I wasn't trying to impress her." Something in the way he was looking at me should have clued me in, but no one can accuse me of being good with relationship and romantic feeling.

"But it was only me and her, and..." Took me long enough, but I finally understood. "Oh!"

He smiled gently. "Yes, oh! You know she looked like you, sounded like you, but she could never get this." He ran his fingers over my forehead and down my temple. "This innocence. Even now after all you've done and seen, you're still so untouched from it all."

When he stepped away, I felt cold inside, in a way that I've never felt.

"Look, I'm sorry. I never meant to tell you this." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It must be all this fucking honesty you people preach." He grabbed his bag, and began shoveling his stuff inside. "I'm going to get out of here, okay, Bobby? I don't... I shouldn't have dumped this on you. You can tell Scott it was my idea."

It was my turn to grab his arm. "It is your idea, and it fucking sucks. You left me once, you're not doing it again, understand? For some reason, I'm not as freaked out knowing that you wanted me, unlike when I found out about Jean-Paul. I mean..."

"You mean that you're slightly freaked out, but not ready to kick me out."

"I mean that you're my friend above everything else, and I want you here. You don't seem surprised about Jean Paul...oh, that's what you meant... and how did you know?"

John laughed. I didn't remember him laughing so much when we were kids, so maybe his departure hadn't been a bad thing. "God, Bobby, you really don't see it, the way he looks at you, hell the way he looks at me. Why do you think he hates me so much?" He cupped the back of my head, I was expecting a cuff, but instead he rested his forehead against mine. "He can see what I feel for you. I could never forget you, Bobby Drake, and these past few weeks made me remember why I wanted you so much."

"Because I'm a joker who can't stay in a relationship and no one takes seriously?" Right, what better way to send him packing then listing all my faults. I'm sure if Emma had been there, she would have added one or a hundred more.

"Because you care for people, and you always want to help, and you are ready to give all of yourself for what you think is right, but unlike Xavier, you always put people first, not the ideal." He ran his hands over my lips, and I held my breath. "I'm going to kiss you," he whispered his warning as he leaned forward.

I didn't move away, closing my eyes as he got too close, and our lips met. I have to admit that when I found out about Jean Paul, I started to wonder what it would be like kissing other men. Nothing I imagined was close to this. John wasn't 'another man'. Even after all this time, he was the best friend I had had, the person I had trusted implicitly, the one who knew the real me and from whom I didn't hide, and when his fingers closed around my hips, pulling me forward, I trusted him again, pressing our bodies together, and letting our tongues do all the talking.

But he wasn't happy with that. His hands were suddenly everywhere, doing their own talking, desperate and needy words as they warred with my clothes, until they were touching bare skin, but John didn't react to my lower body temperature, which was strange. All my previous lovers had always complained about that, about being cold if they lay too close for too long.

"I'm cold; I know." I couldn't believe how breathless I sounded.

John nipped on my jaw, before speaking. "You're fucking hot, Bobby." His hand closed around my wrist and he pressed my hand against his crotch. "This is how hot you are; this is how much I want you."

"John, I've never...I don't know..." I pulled my hand back like it burned, but couldn't take my eyes away from his face, and I saw the change. His lust turned into sadness, and resignation.

John shrugged. "That's fine, Bobby. I never expected this anyway. Let's just pack, okay?" Calm, uncaring, and yet I knew it was only an act. I'd seen him do that in the past, shut everything out and feign indifference to mask the hurt.

"That's not...." Fuck, I wasn't going to explain, because words have always gotten me into more trouble. I took his face between my hands, and kissed him again, refusing to let him push me away, waiting for him to relax again before one hand slid down his back, and I pressed him against me, letting him feel that he wasn't the only one who wanted this. "I haven't, doesn't mean I don't want to."

"Couldn't you have said that before?" he said with a smile.

"And destroy years of miscommunication? Nah, it would make things too easy." I grinned at him, but he wasn't smiling anymore. "What is it now?"

"In the past, I've wondered if it would have made a difference, if I told you, you know? But..."

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I mean I was the mutant, the freak of the family. This, us, would have made me even more different. John, are we going to discuss everything that happened in the past decade or..." I was not going to blush, I was not. Of course, my body didn't agree with my brain and I could feel the warmth in my cheeks.

"Oh c'mon, Bobby," he teased, "you have to at least say it. What do you want?" His hand slid down my body, resting on my crotch. "A handjob, a blowjob..." God, he was having so much fun, and I wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face, but then it disappeared all by itself. He moved closer, his lips touching my ear, his breath warm felt even warmer on my colder than human body, but its effect was nothing compared to his next words, "Or do you want to fuck me?"

I was amazed that I wasn't a puddle of melted ice at his feet. I couldn't believe what he was asking me, and I have to admit that a large part of me, the up-to-that-moment-straight part couldn't understand why he'd want to. "You'd let me?"

"Let you? Bobby, I let Mystique do it, because she looked like you. I'm not going let you; I want you to."

"When the hell did you become so straight?" I asked without thinking. I saw the smile on his face before we started laughing. "I don't remember you being so straightforward, better?" He nodded, still laughing. "Good, now if we can skip all mention of Mystique..." I shivered at the thought of her, her looking like me, her fucking John while looking like me. "I like the idea of me fucking you a lot more."

"So do I." We looked at each other for a moment. I could see the need that had been building inside him for years, but I didn't have time to wonder how much of it was only a fond memory, because his lips were on mine, hungry and needy. Our tongues fought in a battle of will, teeth scraping tender lips, but neither of us cared. His hands where on me again, tugging on my clothes like they had committed some kind of crime and needed to be punished.

Getting naked was an exercise of frustration because John refused to break the kiss, as if we'd be separated again, but we slowly managed, until I could feel his hot body pressed against mine. I didn't have time to question my own motives, because his erection was pressing against mine, and his hands were on my ass, creating delicious friction as our cocks slid against each other.

Some last vestige of rationality still nabbed at me. I buried my fingers in his hair, while I kissed my way over his jaw until I reached his ear. "Need to lock the door, lube is in the first drawer." Hidden very well at the bottom because you never know when people decide to search your things in a school like this.

Reluctantly he let me go, and by the time, I'd locked the door, he was on my bed, with the lube lying next to. Damn, but he looked good, he always had, but age had helped filling him up in all the right places. He was still lean, but each muscle was well defined, bulging just right, without becoming too much, and I didn't even want to know when I had started paying attention to men's bodies and chiseled abs.

He was looking at me with a small frown. "Are you going to freak out on me?"

I chuckled, but aware of how well he could still read me. I reached the bed, and lay on top of him, pushing his legs open with mine. "Maybe later."

"I can deal with later," was his answer. "Are you going to stare or should I give you lessons?" he asked after a heartbeat, grinning like a madman.

"I think I can figure this out, thank you very much." Some things don't change regardless of gender, and I grabbed the lube. My hand brushed against his cock as I moved and I heard him gasp. Some things aren't exactly the same. I poured the lube, and closed my fingers around his cock, sliding them slowly.

I could see that he was trying to stay quiet. It was clear in the tension of his muscles, in the way he chewed on his bottom lip, in the flames of his eyes. I covered him with my body, before pressing my lips to his. "Let me hear you; let me know I'm doing this right," I whispered.

"Very right...." He buried his fingers in my hair and pulled me close. Our mouths met again and again in the perfect combination of warmth and need. Moans and profanities spilled out of John like a river in spate, but then his fingers closed in a vice-like grip around my wrist. "Stop or I'll come."

I was ready to make a joke about being the point, but the intensity on his face stopped me. I wanted to give him this, but also I wanted to feel so needed, a feeling that I had never experienced with any of my girlfriends.

We couldn't stop kissing as my fingers moved inside him, and his were on me. He touched me everywhere and anywhere, tentative at first as if he were on a recon mission, learning every detail until he could predict my reaction, discovering what aroused and what tickled, and when he got tired of the game, he tugged on my lip while he pulled my fingers from his body. "Fuck me already."

I didn't want to stop just yet. I wanted to touch, to drive him mad, to see him curse with need.

"Someone is going to show up soon," he pointed out.

It was enough to convince me, because if we didn't get to finish this, I would be killing someone. Before I could ask how he wanted to do this, he shoved a pillow under his hips, and wrapped his legs around my waist. There was nothing left for me but to plunge into his willing body.

Any idea of enjoying the moment was quickly replaced with a more primal need. I moved fast and hard, the bed squeaking with each thrust, John moving closer and closer to the headboard, until he stuck one hand against it to protect his head. I knew neither of us was going to last long, foreplay had lasted years, and had been stretched over more than a decade. Neither of us wanted to wait any longer.

I closed my hand around his cock, and he immediately covered my hand with his. We began to move together, while I kept pushing into him. Sex, just sex, I tried to tell myself, I shouldn't raise my hopes, because this is his childhood dream, then he'll find out who you are and he'll leave. Yet, our eyes remained locked, and I saw something that I'd never seen in Lorna's eyes: I saw love.

Then, it happened. He closed his eyes, and threw his head back. His lips remained parted, but not a sound escaped him. His body stilled, tensing like a violin string, before he sank into the mattress and I felt the wetness covering my hand. In that one moment, I realized something more: I had never stopped caring about him. I had never thought of him as a 'boyfriend', but the feelings were there.

"Bobby?" He squeezed his legs, bringing me out of my reverie as my cock was buried inside his body once more.

I lay down, and caressed his face. "I'm glad you're home." I started moving again, but my hand stayed on his cheek. It was slower than before, and John held me close as I used his body. My orgasm built slowly, enveloping every fiber of my body and then exploding like fireworks, leaving me limp, sated, and in John's arms.

"You're not freaking out, are you?" he asked me after a moment. He sounded too calm not to be nervous.

I raised my head, looking at him as I sighed happily. "No, not freaking out, but..." Another thought came to me. "Maybe we shouldn't tell the others just yet, you know."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he agreed all too readily, and I hated that. John was supposed to be belligerent and contrary; he wasn't supposed to agree with everything I said.

"You used to call me on my bullshit. Are you going to go along with everything? I mean it wouldn't be much of a change. Everyone thinks I'm always wrong, and they ignore me, but you-"

"I'm not ignoring you, Bobby, but this is your home. I'm the stranger here, even worse, I'm the enemy. If keeping this quiet is going to make you happy..." he shrugged. "I can deal with that... as long as I get to annoy Rogue, though," he finished with a grin.

"It doesn't have anything to do with being happy. I don't want anyone giving you any grief over this. God knows what they'll think you did."

"I'm not the one who can play with people's minds." He shifted, until we were lying on our sides, facing each other. "Okay, what the hell is going on, Bobby? Why are you so worried?"

He was going to find out anyway, it was much easier if I told myself. "There's been lots of shit with Lorna, Alex, and me. Of course, everyone thinks that they should be together, and what do I know about relationship, right?"

"So they trust you with their lives, and you're mature enough to risk your life for some greater good, but you're incapable of deciding who you want to be with?" John shook his head. "Yes, that does sound like the people I knew and I hated with a passion."

"You have to admit I don't have a great track record with women, but I've saved the world once or twice," I said, grinning.

"I'm not a woman."

"Yeah, I know, John, but I doubt they'll see that as a plus. Let's just give them a few weeks to get used to us as friends, okay? Then we'll tell them." After I made sure that no one would kill him.

"I can deal with that." He looked at me with a mischievous grin. "So how good are Wolverine's senses?"

I groaned. Logan had the uncanny ability to know things without even using his enhanced sense, there was no way that we could keep this from him. "He won't say anything. I'm more worried about the telepaths...and Emma," I added darkly.

"I like her. She reminds me of Mystique. She's a bitch and she'll cut you in half, but you always know where you stand with her."

"Yeah, I'm on her shit list. I hate it when she calls me Robert, like we share this great secret, and she gets into my head...all right enough about Emma. It's time to get up."

"Right that annoying responsibilities you people seem to enjoy so much." He sighed dramatically, but did get up. "Do I still get to annoy Rogue?"

I chuckled. "Sorry, man, you'll have to speak to Remy. She's all his."

"He can keep her," he murmured under his breath. He grabbed the sheet and cleaned himself up with a corner, before reaching for his clothes. "We're burning these, and when we get to the school, we're getting a room next to the showers."

"Smooth, way to keep it low key." I ended up using the sheets as well. It was either that, or walk outside and head for the shower. Possibly bumping into Emma *and* Logan on the way there.

"Bobby, I am the emblem of smooth. You, on the other hand, don't know the meaning. I've seen you wear Hawaiian shirts, for God's sake."

I wasn't wearing them when he was in school, and I haven't since his return. "When did you see them?"

"I might have, on occasion, once in a while, made sure that you were okay." He leaned against my desk and pulled me closer by my hips. "I'm pretty sure that Xavier knew, but he never stopped me. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay, and I don't mean with Magneto and all that, but that you, Bobby and not Iceman, were all right."

"What about John? Was he okay or was only Pyro okay?"

"I did all right. I'm still here, and I finally got what I wanted." He pulled me closer, and kissed my chest, right where my heart was. "I have no illusions, Bobby. I know we've both grown up, and there is a lot of shit that we don't know about each other, but I need to see if it's possible, if it wasn't... a dream."

"Dreams aren't a bad thing, but I'd like to try on one condition."

John only raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to go on.

"Promise me that if things get fucked up, you won't run off. You'll stick around no matter what happens, okay?"

John nodded, before resting his forehead against my stomach. "I'm not going anywhere, unless you ask me to leave. How's that?"

"I wouldn't ask you to leave. Well, except we have to leave now," I added grinning. "C'mon, clothes are a necessity."

"We should ask Wolverine to change that rule at the school. I bet he's more flexible than Cyclops."

"Marble is more flexible than Scott." I smacked his arm. "Get up, you lazy, bum. You're not going to get me to do all your work like you used to." Although he hadn't since his arrival. In fact he had done more than anyone would have asked him to do.

"It was worth a try." When he stood up, he kissed my shoulder, and it hit me how right it all felt.

"I don't think I'll freak out," I said calmly as I resumed my packing.

"Good," he replied, passing me a pair of pants.

~*~*~

Our beginning together was normal, casual, and low key, and it continued this way through the years.

Of course, our relationship hasn't been a bed of roses. We have had our problems. The biggest was Mystique's arrival. I hated seeing her close to John, the familiar way in which she would melt against his body, or the conspiratorial winks she gave him.

I stayed quiet, not wanting to upset the truce that had been formed between the X-Men and the former members of the Brotherhood, but one night, we were sitting in the living room of the mansion, when she sat next to John. She kept getting closer and closer, their heads together while they spoke and laughed, ignoring the rest of the world.

I really tried to keep my temper in check, I did, but I couldn't take it anymore. I raised my hand and a sheet of ice formed between them.

"Bobby, what the fuck are you doing?" Everyone turned when they heard John curse, but I ignored them.

I stood up and moved closer to the couch where they were. I had eyes only for Mystique. "You get this close to *my* boyfriend again, and you will be ice. Is that clear enough?" I hissed through clenched teeth.

Mystique smirked, and she unwrapped herself, and stood up with her natural grace. "You only had to ask, Bobby." She leaned and whispered in my ear, "Then again, I can change into him if you want." Then she moved back and grinned at me.

"I'm going to kill her," I told John, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

"No, you're not. You're too good to murder people." He jumped up and put his hand around my waist. "Let's go back home before they come to their senses and start asking questions." He tipped his head to the people present and practically dragged me out of the mansion. "You know you just came out in front of everyone?" he asked me, looking at me like I might break down at any moment.

"I don't care if it keeps Mystique away from you."

He laughed. "She was only teasing you. Mystique is a dear friend, and I'd do anything for her, but she knows about us. She wasn't trying anything."

"So you and Mystique..."

"There has been no me and anyone else since we got together, okay?"

I still had my doubts, not about John, but about me. After all, Rogue left me for Remy. Lorna left me for Alex. I sighed, and rested my head on his shoulder as we walked. "No matter what they'll say, I'm still not going to freak out."

"Good." He kissed my temple. "I'd hate not getting laid because you're too busy freaking out.

"Idiot," I said affectionately, he grinned, and everything was well again.

~*~*~

We came out five years ago. Since then we've worked side by side, rebuilding a world that had been inhabited by billions of people. Now, there are only about three thousand people, all living in or around the Institute.

The Professor is back with all of Genosha's residents, including Magneto. Sure, he's not our enemy anymore, but when I see him talking to John, I still feel the need to punch him out, and I have to remind myself that he never forced John to follow him. It was John's choice.

John and I aren't the only same sex couple, but then in a society made mostly of mutants, people who had been labelled as freaks for years, prejudice isn't tolerated.

"What are you doing out here? It's cold." John approaches me, and hugs me from behind. I immediately lean back against him.

"You forget that I'm Iceman. It's not really that cold, and I was thinking."

"Yeah? You're in one of those moods then. Should I be worried?" he asks kissing my neck. A few years ago, the question would have been filled with apprehension, but now it holds no fear.

"Very. I was planning to move to Alaska." I hear him chuckle, and smile as well. "No, I was thinking about us and the war. I should feel bad for what happened, but I can't. It gave me happiness."

"You didn't start the war, and there was no way for any of us to stop it." He squeezes lightly. "There is nothing wrong with you being happy."

"I know, still... it doesn't matter." I turn in his arms. "So what exciting plans do we have for the night?"

"We're playing basketball with the little ones first, and then there is the musical the older kids have prepared, and god, I can't believe I just said that."

"Alaska starting to sound good?" I ask, laughing.

"Very, right after we let them beat our asses at basketball."

"John Allerdyce, famous journalist, best selling author, and now a lowly school teacher who will let his students walk all over him. How the mighty have fallen!"

"Keep talking and guess who won't get laid tonight."

"Mystique keeps offering to change into you."

He flips a finger at me, but doesn't pull away. "C'mon, before I freeze my ass off." He laces his fingers with mine, and we walk back inside. It's normal and familiar, and I wouldn't change it for the world.


End file.
